Search results for: Duke FACE (free-air carbon dioxide enrichment)

Authors: I. Mukherjee, J. Ghose, T. Chakraborty, S. Chaudhury, R. Majumder

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India is the second most populated nation in the world. With the Indian population hitting the 1.26 billion mark in the year 2014, there has been an unprecedented rise in power and energy requirements throughout the nation. This mammoth demand for energy, both at the industrial as well as at the domestic household level, as well as the increase in the usage of automobiles has led to a corresponding increase in the total tonnage of fuels being burnt every year. This, in turn, has led to an increase in the concentration of atmospheric pollutants over the years with enhanced particulate concentrations being reported for different parts of the country. Considering the adverseness of the particulates, the paper analyses the role of the particulates on the air quality of four major congested cities of the country namely, Kolkata (22034’ N, 88024’ E), Delhi (28038’N , 77012’ E), Bangalore (12058’ N , 77038’E) and Mumbai (18.9750° N, 72.8258° E) over a period of four years from 2006-2009. The fractional contribution of the finer fractions to the coarser one has been considered in the study in addition to the relative occurrences of the particulate fractions with respect to the other gaseous pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX).

Keywords: air quality, particulates, yearly variation, relative occurrence, SO2, NOX

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Authors: Anika Zafiah M. Rus, Nik Normunira Mat Hassan

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Biopolymer made from renewable material are one of the most important group of polymer because of their versatility and they can be manufactured in a wide range of densities and stiffness. In this project, biopolymer based on waste vegetable oil were synthesized and crosslink with commercial polymethane polyphenyl isocyanate (known as BF).The BF was compressed by using hot compression moulding technique at 90 oC based on the evaporation of volatile matter and known as compress biopolymer (CB). The density, vibration and damping characteristic of CB were determined after UV irradiation. Treatment with titanium dioxide (TiO2) was found to affect the physical property of compress biopolymer composite (CBC). The density of CBC samples was steadily increased with an increase of UV irradiation time and TiO2 loading. The highest density of CBC samples is at 10 % of TiO2 loading of 1.1088 g/cm3 due to the amount of filler loading. The vibration and damping characteristic of CBC samples was generated at displacements of 1 mm and 1.5 mm and acceleration of 0.1 G and 0.15 G base excitation according to ASTM D3580-9. It was revealed that, the vibration and damping characteristic of CBC samples is significantly increased with the increasing of UV irradiation time, lowest thickness and percentages of TiO2 loading at the frequency range of 15 - 25 Hz. Therefore, this study indicated that the damping property of CBC could be improved upon prolonged exposure to UV irradiation.

Keywords: biopolymer flexible foam, TGA, UV irradiation, vibration and damping

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Authors: Varun K, Pramod B. Balareddy

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Estimation of wind forces plays a significant role in the in the design of large antenna parabolic reflectors. Reflector surface accuracies are very sensitive to the gain of the antenna system at higher frequencies. Hence accurate estimation of wind forces becomes important, which is primary input for design and analysis of the reflector system. In the present work, numerical simulation of wind flow using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software is used to investigate the external pressure coefficients. An extensive comparative study has been made between the CFD results and the published wind tunnel data for different wind angle of attacks (α) acting over concave to convex surfaces respectively. Flow simulations using CFD are carried out to estimate the coefficients of Drag, Lift and Moment for the parabolic reflector. Coefficients of pressures (Cp) over the front and the rear face of the reflector are extracted over surface of the reflector to study the net pressure variations. These resultant pressure variations are compared with the published wind tunnel data for different angle of attacks. It was observed from the CFD simulations, both convex and concave face of reflector system experience a band of pressure variations for the positive and negative angle of attacks respectively. In the published wind tunnel data, Pressure variations over convex surfaces are assumed to be uniform and vice versa. Chordwise and spanwise pressure variations were calculated and compared with the published experimental data. In the present work, it was observed that the maximum pressure coefficients for α ranging from +30° to -90° and α=+90° was lower. For α ranging from +45° to +75°, maximum pressure coefficients were higher as compared to wind tunnel data. This variation is due to non-uniform pressure distribution observed over front and back faces of reflector. Variations in Cd, Cl and Cm over α=+90° to α=-90° was in close resemblance with the experimental data.

Keywords: angle of attack, drag coefficient, lift coefficient, pressure coefficient

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Authors: Mohammed Flaih Alotaibi, Rasheed Ahemad Shaik, Mohammed Z. Nasrullah

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Diabetic foot ulcers are the foremost global healthcare burden. Hyperglycemia in diabetics is incriminating in impeding wound healing and it can allow for more severe medical issues. The study was intended to establish a nanoconjugate of cordycepin-melittin (COR-MEL) and evaluate its healing effects in wounded diabetic rats. Diabetes induced by injecting streptozotocin intraperitoneally (50 mg/kg, body weight). Therefore, animals were classified into various groups; diabetic untreated, vehicle-treated, COR alone, MEL alone, and COR-MEL nanoconjugate treated, respectively. Animals with diabetes were exposed to excision and treated with Vehicle, COR, MEL, or COR-MEL nanoconjugate topically. After 14 days, the wounded skin was sliced and subjected to histological and biochemical assessments. The formulated nanoconjugate has a particle size of 253.5± 17.4 nm by a polydispersity index of 0.36 ± 0.05, and a zeta potential of 1.72 ± 0.3 mV. The study demonstrated an accelerated wound contraction in COR-MEL-treated diabetic rats, which was further validated by histological analysis. The nanoconjugate further exhibited antioxidant activities by inhibiting the accumulation of malondialdehyde and exhaustion of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase enzymatic activities. The nanoconjugate further demonstrated an enhanced anti-inflammatory activity by retarding the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α). Additionally, the nanoconjugate exhibits a strong expression of growth factors (TGF-β1, VEGF-A, and PDGFR-β), indicating enrichment of proliferation. Likewise, nanoconjugate increased the concentration of hydroxyproline as well as the mRNA expression of collagen, type I, alpha 1. Thus, it is concluded that the nanoconjugate possesses a potent wound-healing activity in diabetic rats via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenetic mechanisms.

Keywords: diabetic wounds, cordycepin, melittin, nanoconjugate, wound healing

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Authors: Anna-Lisa Osvalder, Jonas Borell

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There are several reasons behind the use, non-use, or inadequate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the construction industry. Comfort and accurate size support proper use, while discomfort, misfit, and difficulties to understand how the PPEs should be handled inhibit correct usage. The need for several protective equipments simultaneously might also create problems. The purpose of this study was to analyse the correct usage, comfort, and fit of different types of PPEs used for construction work. Correct usage was analysed as guessability, i.e., human perceptions of how to don, adjust, use, and doff the equipment, and if used as intended. The PPEs tested individually or in combinations were a helmet, ear protectors, goggles, respiratory masks, gloves, protective cloths, and safety harnesses. First, an analytical evaluation was performed with ECW (enhanced cognitive walkthrough) and PUEA (predictive use error analysis) to search for usability problems and use errors during handling and use. Then usability tests were conducted to evaluate guessability, comfort, and fit with 10 test subjects of different heights and body constitutions. The tests included observations during donning, five different outdoor work tasks, and doffing. The think-aloud method, short interviews, and subjective estimations were performed. The analytical evaluation showed that some usability problems and use errors arise during donning and doffing, but with minor severity, mostly causing discomfort. A few use errors and usability problems arose for the safety harness, especially for novices, where some could lead to a high risk of severe incidents. The usability tests showed that discomfort arose for all test subjects when using a combination of PPEs, increasing over time. For instance, goggles, together with the face mask, caused pressure, chafing at the nose, and heat rash on the face. This combination also limited sight of vision. The helmet, in combination with the goggles and ear protectors, did not fit well and caused uncomfortable pressure at the temples. No major problems were found with the individual fit of the PPEs. The ear protectors, goggles, and face masks could be adjusted for different head sizes. The guessability for how to don and wear the combination of PPE was moderate, but it took some time to adjust them for a good fit. The guessability was poor for the safety harness; few clues in the design showed how it should be donned, adjusted, or worn on the skeletal bones. Discomfort occurred when the straps were tightened too much. All straps could not be adjusted for somebody's constitutions leading to non-optimal safety. To conclude, if several types of PPEs are used together, discomfort leading to pain is likely to occur over time, which can lead to misuse, non-use, or reduced performance. If people who are not regular users should wear a safety harness correctly, the design needs to be improved for easier interpretation, correct position of the straps, and increased possibilities for individual adjustments. The results from this study can be a base for re-design ideas for PPE, especially when they should be used in combinations.

Keywords: construction work, PPE, personal protective equipment, misuse, guessability, usability

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Authors: Meilisha Putri Pertiwi, Mufti Petala Patria

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Mangrove forest often categorized as a productive ecosystem in trophic water and the highest carbon storage among all the forest types. Mangrove-derived organic matter determines the food web of fish and invertebrates. In Indonesia trophic water ecosystem, 80% commersial fish caught in coastal area are high related to food web in mangrove forest ecosystem. Based on the previous research in Panjang Island, Bojonegara, Banten, Indonesia, removed mangrove litterfall to the sea water were 9,023 g/m³/s for two stations (west station–5,169 g/m³/s and north station-3,854 g/m³/s). The vegetation were dominated from Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizopora stylosa. C element is the highest content (27,303% and 30,373%) than N element (0,427% and 0,35%) and P element (0,19% and 0,143%). The aim of research also to know the diversity of fish inhabit in mangrove forest. Fish sampling is by push net. Fish caught are collected into plastics, total length measured, weigh measured, and individual and total counted. Meanwhile, the 3 modified pipes (1 m long, 5 inches diameter, and a closed one hole part facing the river by using a nylon cloth) set in the water channel connecting mangrove forest and sea water for each stasiun. They placed for 1 hour at low tide. Then calculate the speed of water flow and volume of modified pipes. The fish and mangrove litter will be weigh for wet weight, dry weight, and analyze the C, N, and P element content. The sampling data will be conduct 3 times of month in full moon. The salinity, temperature, turbidity, pH, DO, and the sediment of mangrove forest will be measure too. This research will give information about the fish diversity in mangrove forest, the removed mangrove litterfall to the sea water, the composition of sediment, the total element content (C, N, P) of fish and mangrove litter, and the correlation of element content absorption between fish and mangrove litter. The data will be use for the fish and mangrove ecosystem conservation.

Keywords: fish diversity, mangrove forest, mangrove litter, carbon element, nitrogen element, P element, conservation

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Authors: Lok Yi Joyce Poon

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China's mobile payment market has boomed in the past few years. WeChat (Chinese name as Weixin) owned by Tencent is known as the fastest growing all-in-one social messaging platforms. The company has launched the WeChat Pay in 2013, in which users can link their credit card to their user account and make payments within the app’s built in digital wallet. WeChat Payment is a one-stop payment tool that can provide a seamless online experience for the shoppers to transfer money between WeChat users (peer-to-peer) and make payments online by scanning a QR code, a prominent facilitator for transactions in WeChat, to complete the payment with the app without directing the users to the external websites. The aims of this study are to examine the effectiveness of WeChat mobile payment in China as well as the impacts of the China teen’s online purchasing behavior since the establishment of WeChat Payment. The research method of this study is conducted by both online survey on Sojump, a popular online survey platform in China. A total of 120 respondents among 18 to 25 teens in China completed the survey. Data sources included participants’ response to an end-of-session questionnaire, encompassing with the types of multiple choice, open-ended questions. To have an in-depth analysis, a face-to-face interview with a Chinese teen who is a frequent user of the WeChat Pay. The main finding of the study shows that the majority of the teenagers frequently use the WeChat payment tool because of its convenience, user-friendliness and the scenarios offered within the WeChat Wallet. The respondents claimed that they will settle the bills in their daily lives via WeChat Pay. However, the respondents in the age group of 40 or above will not use the WeChat Pay due to the security concern and they do not see the app as a platform for commercial activities like online shopping. Throughout the study, it is recommended WeChat should put more efforts on the security issue and improve the payment technology by adopting the near-field communication terminals instead of requiring users to scan QR codes before they complete the transaction.

Keywords: digital wallet, mobile payment, online purchasing behavior, WeChat Pay

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Authors: Asim Quddus

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A miniaturized three dimensional co-planar waveguide (CPW) two-port MIMO antenna, exhibiting high isolation and WLAN band-notched characteristics is presented in this paper for ultrawideband (UWB) communication applications. The microstrip patch antenna operates as a single UWB antenna element. The proposed design is a cuboid-shaped structure having compact size of 35 x 27 x 45 mm³. Radiating as well as decoupling structure is placed around cuboidal polystyrene sheet. The radiators are 27 mm apart, placed Face-to-Face in vertical direction. Decoupling structure is placed on the side walls of polystyrene. The proposed antenna consists of an oval shaped radiating patch. A rectangular structure with fillet edges is placed on ground plan to enhance the bandwidth. The proposed antenna exhibits a good impedance match (S11 ≤ -10 dB) over frequency band of 2 GHz – 10.6 GHz. A circular slotted structure is employed as a decoupling structure on substrate, and it is placed on the side walls of polystyrene to enhance the isolation between antenna elements. Moreover, to achieve immunity from WLAN band distortion, a modified, inverted crescent shaped slotted structure is etched on radiating patches to achieve band-rejection characteristics at WLAN frequency band 4.8 GHz – 5.2 GHz. The suggested decoupling structure provides isolation better than 15 dB over the desired UWB spectrum. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and gain for the MIMO antenna are analyzed as well. Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations are carried out in Ansys High Frequency Structural Simulator (HFSS) for the proposed design. The antenna is realized on a Rogers RT/duroid 5880 with thickness 1 mm, relative permittivity ɛr = 2.2. The proposed antenna achieves a stable omni-directional radiation patterns as well, while providing rejection at desired WLAN band. The S-parameters as well as MIMO parameters like ECC are analyzed and the results show conclusively that the design is suitable for portable MIMO-UWB applications.

Keywords: 3-D antenna, band-notch, MIMO, UWB

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Authors: Omar Ali, Adesh Ramsubhag, Jayaraj Jayaraman

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Seaweed extracts have been reported as plant biostimulants which could be a safer, organic alternative to harsh pesticides. The incentive to use seaweed-based biostimulants is becoming paramount in sustainable agriculture. The current study, therefore, screened a commercial extract of A. nodosum in tomatoes, cultivated in Trinidad to showcase the multiple beneficial effects. Foliar treatment with an A. nodosum commercial extract led to significant increases in fruit yield and a significant reduction of incidence of bacterial spots and early blight diseases under both greenhouse and field conditions. Investigations were carried out to reveal the possible mechanisms of action of this biostimulant through defense enzyme assays and transcriptome profiling via RNA sequencing of tomato. Studies into disease control mechanisms by A. nodosum showed that the extract stimulated the activity of enzymes such as peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, chitinase, polyphenol oxidase, and β-1,3-glucanase. Additionally, the transcriptome survey revealed the upregulation and enrichment of genes responsible for the biosynthesis of growth hormones, defense enzymes, PR proteins and defense-related secondary metabolites, as well as genes involved in the nutrient mobilization, photosynthesis and primary and secondary metabolic pathways. The results of the transcriptome study also demonstrated the cross-talks between growth and defense responses, confirming the bioelicitor and biostimulant value of seaweed extracts in plants. These effects could potentially implicate the benefits of seaweed extract and validate its usage in sustainable crop production.

Keywords: A. nodosum, biostimulants, elicitor, enzymes, growth responses, seaweeds, tomato, transcriptome analysis

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Authors: M. A. Mamun, M. I. Khan, M. H. Sarker, K. A. Khan, M. Shajahan

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The study was carried out to investigate on an innovative invention, Pathor Kuchi Leaf (PKL) cell, which is fueled with PKL sap of widely available plant called Bryophyllum pinnatum as an energy source for use in PKL battery to generate electricity. This battery, a primary source of electricity, has several order of magnitude longer shelf-lives than the traditional Galvanic cell battery, is still under investigation. In this regard, we have conducted some experiments using various instruments including Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), Ultra-Violet Visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), pH meter, Ampere-Volt-Ohm Meter (AVO Meter), etc. The AAS, UV-Vis, and pH-metric analysis data provided that the potential and current were produced as the Zn electrode itself acts as reductant while Cu2+ and H+ ions are behaving as the oxidant. The significant influence of secondary salt on current and potential leads to the dissociation of weak organic acids in PKL juice, and subsequent enrichment to the reactant ions by the secondary salt effects. However, the liquid junction potential was not as great as minimized with the opposite transference of organic acid anions and H+ ions as their dissimilar ionic mobilities. Moreover, the large value of the equilibrium constant (K) implies the big change in Gibbs free energy (∆G), the more electromotive force works in electron transfer during the forward electrochemical reaction which coincides with the fast reduction of the weight of zinc plate, revealed the additional electrical work in the presence of PKL sap. This easily fabricated high-performance PKL battery can show an excellent promise during the off-peak across the countryside.

Keywords: Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), Bryophylum Pinnatum Leaf (BPL), electricity, electrochemistry, organic acids

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Authors: Kirsi Korkealehto

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In Finland the transformation from homogenous culture into multicultural one as a result of heavy immigration has been rapid in the recent decades. As multilingualism and multiculturalism are growing features in our society, teachers in all educational levels need to be competent for encounters with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Consequently, also the number of multicultural and multilingual vocational school students has increased which has not been taken into consideration in teacher education enough. To bridge this gap between teachers’ competences and the requirements of the contemporary school world, Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education established the DivEd-project. The aim of the project is to prepare all teachers to work in the linguistically and culturally diverse world they live in, to develop and increase culturally sustaining and linguistically responsive pedagogy in Finland, increase awareness among Teacher Educators working with preservice teachers and to increase awareness and provide specific strategies to in-service teachers. The partners in the nationwide project are 6 universities and 2 universities of applied sciences. In this research, the linguistically and culturally sustainable teaching practices developed within the DivEd-project are tested in practice. This research aims to explore vocational teachers’ perceptions of these multilingualism and multilingual educational practices. The participants of this study are vocational teachers in of different fields. The data were collected by individual, face-to-face interviews. The data analysis was conducted through content analysis. The findings indicate that the vocational teachers experience that they lack knowledge on linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy. Moreover, they regard themselves in some extent incompetent in incorporating multilingually and multiculturally sustainable pedagogy in everyday teaching work. Therefore, they feel they need more training pertaining multicultural and multilingual knowledge, competences and suitable pedagogical methods for teaching students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Keywords: multicultural, multilingual, teacher competence, vocational school

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Atiwit Sinyoo, Sekh Thanprasertsuk, Sithiporn Agthong, Pasakorn Watanatada, Shaun Peter Qureshi, Saknan Bongsebandhu-Phubhakdi

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Background: Since the SARS-CoV-2 virus became extensively disseminated throughout the world, online learning has become one of the most hotly debated topics in educational reform. While some studies have already shown the advantage of online learning, there are still questions concerning how online learning affects students’ learning behavior and academic achievement when each student learns in a different way. Hence, we aimed to develop a guide for preclinical medical students to avoid drawbacks and get benefits from online learning that possibly a double-edged sword. Methods: We used a multiple-choice questionnaire to evaluate the learning behavior of second-year Thai medical students in the neuroscience course. All traditional face-to-face lecture classes were video-recorded and promptly posted to the online learning platform throughout this course. Students could pick and choose whatever classes they wanted to attend, and they may use online learning as often as they wished. Academic performance was evaluated as summative score, spot exam score and pre-post-test improvement. Results: More frequently students used online learning platform, the less they attended lecture classes (P = 0.035). High proactive online learners (High PO) who were irregular attendee (IrA) had significantly lower summative scores (P = 0.026), spot exam score (P = 0.012) and pre-post-test improvement (P = 0.036). In the meanwhile, conditional attendees (CoA) who only attended classes with attendance check had significantly higher summative score (P = 0.025) and spot exam score (P = 0.001) if they were in the High PO group. Conclusions: The benefit and drawbacks edges of using an online learning platform were demonstrated in our research. Based on this double-edged sword effect, we believe that online learning is a valuable learning strategy, but students must carefully plan their study schedule to gain the “benefit edge” meanwhile avoiding its “drawback edge”.

Keywords: academic performance, assessment, attendance, online learning, preclinical medical students

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Authors: benabbess anja

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This research presents the design and implementation of a real-time course recommendation system for online learning platforms, leveraging user competencies and expertise levels. The system begins by extracting and classifying the complexity levels of courses from Udemy datasets using semantic enrichment techniques and resources such as WordNet and BERT. A predictive model assigns complexity levels to each course, adding columns that represent the course category, sub-category, and complexity level to the existing dataset. Simultaneously, user profiles are constructed through questionnaires capturing their skills, sub-skills, and proficiency levels. The recommendation process involves generating embeddings with BERT, followed by calculating cosine similarity between user profiles and courses. Courses are ranked based on their relevance, with the BERT model delivering the most accurate results. To enable real-time recommendations, Apache Kafka is integrated to track user interactions (clicks, comments, time spent, completed courses, feedback) and update user profiles. The embeddings are regenerated, and similarities with courses are recalculated to reflect users' evolving needs and behaviors, incorporating a progressive weighting of interactions for more personalized suggestions. This approach ensures dynamic and real-time course recommendations tailored to user progress and engagement, providing a more personalized and effective learning experience. This system aims to improve user engagement and optimize learning paths by offering courses that precisely match users' needs and current skill levels.

Keywords: recommendation system, online learning, real-time, user skills, expertise level, personalized recommendations, dynamic suggestions

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Authors: V. E. Messerle, A. B. Ustimenko, O. A. Lavrichshev

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A large amount of manure and its irrational use negatively affect the environment. As compared with biomass fermentation, plasma processing of manure enhances makes it possible to intensify the process of obtaining fuel gas, which consists mainly of synthesis gas (CO + H₂), and increase plant productivity by 150–200 times. This is achieved due to the high temperature in the plasma reactor and a multiple reduction in waste processing time. This paper examines the plasma processing of biomass using the example of dried mixed animal manure (dung with a moisture content of 30%). Characteristic composition of dung, wt.%: Н₂О – 30, С – 29.07, Н – 4.06, О – 32.08, S – 0.26, N – 1.22, P₂O₅ – 0.61, K₂O – 1.47, СаО – 0.86, MgO – 0.37. The thermodynamic code TERRA was used to numerically analyze dung plasma gasification and pyrolysis. Plasma gasification and pyrolysis of dung were analyzed in the temperature range 300–3,000 K and pressure 0.1 MPa for the following thermodynamic systems: 100% dung + 25% air (plasma gasification) and 100% dung + 25% nitrogen (plasma pyrolysis). Calculations were conducted to determine the composition of the gas phase, the degree of carbon gasification, and the specific energy consumption of the processes. At an optimum temperature of 1,500 K, which provides both complete gasification of dung carbon and the maximum yield of combustible components (99.4 vol.% during dung gasification and 99.5 vol.% during pyrolysis), and decomposition of toxic compounds of furan, dioxin, and benz(a)pyrene, the following composition of combustible gas was obtained, vol.%: СО – 29.6, Н₂ – 35.6, СО₂ – 5.7, N₂ – 10.6, H₂O – 17.9 (gasification) and СО – 30.2, Н₂ – 38.3, СО₂ – 4.1, N₂ – 13.3, H₂O – 13.6 (pyrolysis). The specific energy consumption of gasification and pyrolysis of dung at 1,500 K is 1.28 and 1.33 kWh/kg, respectively. An installation with a DC plasma torch with a rated power of 100 kW and a plasma reactor with a dung capacity of 50 kg/h was used for dung processing experiments. The dung was gasified in an air (or nitrogen during pyrolysis) plasma jet, which provided a mass-average temperature in the reactor volume of at least 1,600 K. The organic part of the dung was gasified, and the inorganic part of the waste was melted. For pyrolysis and gasification of dung, the specific energy consumption was 1.5 kWh/kg and 1.4 kWh/kg, respectively. The maximum temperature in the reactor reached 1,887 K. At the outlet of the reactor, a gas of the following composition was obtained, vol.%: СO – 25.9, H₂ – 32.9, СO₂ – 3.5, N₂ – 37.3 (pyrolysis in nitrogen plasma); СO – 32.6, H₂ – 24.1, СO₂ – 5.7, N₂ – 35.8 (air plasma gasification). The specific heat of combustion of the combustible gas formed during pyrolysis and plasma-air gasification of agricultural waste is 10,500 and 10,340 kJ/kg, respectively. Comparison of the integral indicators of dung plasma processing showed satisfactory agreement between the calculation and experiment.

Keywords: agricultural waste, experiment, plasma gasification, thermodynamic calculation

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Authors: Lavdosh Lazemetaj

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The labor market in W.B. Countries presents problems and challenges, this is dictated by different risk factors. The levels of unemployment in the region are high and the rates of its reduction are a challenge. This paper presents these challenges and problems that the countries face. of the BP region. The region as a whole and the countries in their particularity are analyzed, according to the specifics, the development trends related to the labor market are looked at. Conclusions are also given that emerge from the analysis of the labor markets prior to the monitoring done by the EU and the World Bank.

Keywords: Economic Development, European Union, Economic Growth, Labor Market

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Authors: Vidya Badrinarayanan, Appa Iyer Sivakumar

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The coronavirus pandemic has sent an important message that future project teams need to be trained to work under virtual conditions, which has already become the new norm in organizations across the world. As organizations increasingly rely on virtual teams to achieve project objectives, it is essential to comprehend how leadership functions in virtual project teams. The purpose of this research is to analyze the leadership behaviors exhibited by project managers for building trust and managing conflicts effectively in virtual project teams. This convergent parallel mixed method research was conducted by surveying 185 virtual leaders and conducting a semi-structured interview with 13 senior virtual leaders involved in managing projects across the industry sectors. The research findings indicate that establishing trust and managing conflicts were ranked as significant challenges in leading virtual project teams in the post-pandemic era. In contrast to earlier findings, our research findings suggest that productivity was not ranked as a significant challenge in leading virtual project teams. This indeed is a positive finding for organizations to consider adopting virtual project teams in the long run. Additionally, the research findings recommend that virtual leaders need to strive to build a high-trust environment and develop effective conflict resolution skills to improve the effectiveness of virtual project teams. As the project management profession struggles with low project success rates, mixed-method research aims to contribute to the knowledge in the growing research area of virtual project leadership. This research contributes to the knowledge by offering first-person accounts from senior virtual leaders on the innovative strategies they had implemented for building trust and resolving conflicts effectively in the virtual project when there were limited opportunities for face-to-face interaction on account of the pandemic. In addition, the leadership framework created as a part of this research for trust development and conflict management in virtual project teams will guide project managers to improve virtual project team effectiveness.

Keywords: conflict management, trust building, virtual leadership, virtual teams

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Authors: Arun Dhakal, Geoff Cockfield

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This paper examines the emission potential of different farming practices that the farmers have adopted in Dhanusha District of Nepal and scope of these practices in climate change mitigation. Which practice is more climate-smarter is the question that this aims to address through a life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The LCA was performed to assess if there is difference in emission potential of broadly two farming systems (agroforestry–based and traditional agriculture) but specifically four farming systems. The required data for this was collected through household survey of randomly selected households of 200. The sources of emissions across the farming systems were paddy cultivation, livestock, chemical fertilizer, fossil fuels and biomass (fuel-wood and crop residue) burning. However, the amount of emission from these sources varied with farming system adopted. Emissions from biomass burning appeared to be the highest while the source ‘fossil fuel’ caused the lowest emission in all systems. The emissions decreased gradually from agriculture towards the highly integrated agroforestry-based farming system (HIS), indicating that integrating trees into farming system not only sequester more carbon but also help in reducing emissions from the system. The annual emissions for HIS, Medium integrated agroforestry-based farming system (MIS), LIS (less integrated agroforestry-based farming system and subsistence agricultural system (SAS) were 6.67 t ha-1, 8.62 t ha-1, 10.75 t ha-1 and 17.85 t ha-1 respectively. In one agroforestry cycle, the HIS, MIS and LIS released 64%, 52% and 40% less GHG emission than that of SAS. Within agroforestry-based farming systems, the HIS produced 25% and 50% less emissions than those of MIS and LIS respectively. Our finding suggests that a tree-based farming system is more climate-smarter than a traditional farming. If other two benefits (carbon sequestered within the farm and in the natural forest because of agroforestry) are to be considered, a considerable amount of emissions is reduced from a climate-smart farming. Some policy intervention is required to motivate farmers towards adopting such climate-friendly farming practices in developing countries.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, greenhouse gas, climate change, farming systems, Nepal

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Authors: Joana Almeida, Kendall Reid, Jonas Bengtsson

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Pallets are devices that are used for moving and storing freight and are nearly omnipresent in supply chains. The market is dominated by timber pallets, with plastic being a common alternative. Either option underpins the use of important resources (oil, land, timber), the emission of greenhouse gases and additional waste generation in most supply chains. This study uses a dynamic approach to the life cycle assessment (LCA) of pallets. It demonstrates that what ultimately defines the environmental burden of pallets in the supply chain is how often the length of its lifespan, which depends on the durability of the material and on how pallets are utilized. This study proposes a life cycle assessment (LCA) of pallets in supply chains supported by an algorithm that estimates pallet durability in function of material resilience and of logistics. The LCA runs from cradle-to-grave, including raw material provision, manufacture, transport and end of life. The scope is representative of timber and plastic pallets in the Australian and South-East Asia markets. The materials included in this analysis are: -tropical mixed hardwood, unsustainably harvested in SE Asia; -certified softwood, sustainably harvested; -conventional plastic, a mix of virgin and scrap plastic; -recycled plastic pallets, 100% mixed plastic scrap, which are being pioneered by Re > Pal. The logistical model purports that more complex supply chains and rougher handling subject pallets to higher stress loads. More stress shortens the lifespan of pallets in function of their composition. Timber pallets can be repaired, extending their lifespan, while plastic pallets cannot. At the factory gate, softwood pallets have the lowest carbon footprint. Re > pal follows closely due to its burden-free feedstock. Tropical mixed hardwood and plastic pallets have the highest footprints. Harvesting tropical mixed hardwood in SE Asia often leads to deforestation, leading to emissions from land use change. The higher footprint of plastic pallets is due to the production of virgin plastic. Our findings show that manufacture alone does not determine the sustainability of pallets. Even though certified softwood pallets have lower carbon footprint and their lifespan can be extended by repair, the need for re-supply of materials and disposal of waste timber offsets this advantage. It also leads to most waste being generated among all pallets. In a supply chain context, Re > Pal pallets have the lowest footprint due to lower replacement and disposal needs. In addition, Re > Pal are nearly ‘waste neutral’, because the waste that is generated throughout their life cycle is almost totally offset by the scrap uptake for production. The absolute results of this study can be confirmed by progressing the logistics model, improving data quality, expanding the range of materials and utilization practices. Still, this LCA demonstrates that considering logistics, raw materials and material durability is central for sustainable decision-making on pallet purchasing, management and disposal.

Keywords: carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, recycled plastic, waste

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Authors: Bilal Jabakhanji, Dimitris Kazazis, Adrien Michon, Christophe Consejo, Wilfried Desrat, Benoit Jouault

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In this paper, we investigate the electrical properties of graphene grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) on the Si face of SiC substrates. Depending on the growth condition, hole or electron doping can be achieved, down to a few 1011cm−2. The high homogeneity of the graphene and the low intrinsic carrier concentration, allow the remarkable observation of the Half Integer Quantum Hall Effect, typical of graphene, at the centimeter scale.

Keywords: graphene, quantum hall effect, chemical vapor, deposition, silicon carbide

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Authors: Ogbonnaya Elom, Francis N. Azunku, Ogochukwu Onah

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This study was carried out to determine the correlates of cost effectiveness analysis of rating scale and psycho-productive multiple choice test for assessing students’ performance in rice production. Four research questions were developed and answered, while one hypothesis was formulated and tested. Survey and correlation designs were adopted. The population of the study was 20,783 made up of 20,511 senior secondary (SSII) students and 272 teachers of agricultural science from 221 public secondary schools. Two schools with one intact class of 30 students each was purposely selected as sample based on certain criteria. Four sets of instruments were used for data collection. One of the instruments-the rating scale, was subjected to face and content validation while the other three were subjected to face validation only. Cronbach alpha technique was utilized to determine the internal consistency of the rating scale items which yielded a coefficient of 0.82 while the Kudder-Richardson (K-R 20) formula was involved in determining the stability of the psycho-productive multiple choice test items which yielded a coefficient of 0.80. Method of data collection involved a step-by-step approach in collecting data. Data collected were analyzed using percentage, weighted mean and sign test to answer the research questions while the hypothesis was tested using Spearman rank-order of correlation and t-test statistic. Findings of the study revealed among others, that psycho-productive multiple choice test is more effective than rating scale when the former is applied on the two groups of students. It was recommended among others, that the external examination bodies should integrate the use of psycho- productive multiple choice test into their examination policy and direct secondary schools to comply with it.

Keywords: correlates, cost-effectiveness, psycho-productive multiple-choice scale, rating scale

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Authors: Ajit Kumar Behera, Saranya P., Sudhir Kumar, Krishnakumar A

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The stable isotope (δ¹⁸ O and δ²H) composition of groundwater of the coastal areas of Periyar and Mahanadi basins falling along East and West coast of India during North-East (NE) monsoon season have been studied. The east and west coast regions are surrounded by the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea respectively, which are considered to be the primary sources for precipitation over India. The major difference between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea is that a number of large rivers feed the Bay of Bengal, whereas the Arabian Sea is fed by very few small rivers, resulting in enriched stable isotopic composition of the Arabian Sea than the Bay of Bengal. Previous studies have reported depleted ratios of stable isotopes during Northeast monsoon along East and West coasts due to the influence of the Bay of Bengal moisture source. The isotopic composition of groundwater of the Mahanadi delta in the east coast region varies from -6.87 ‰ to -3.40 ‰ for δ¹⁸ O and -45.42 ‰ to -22.43‰ for δ²H. However, the groundwater of the Periyar basin in the west coast has enriched stable isotope value varying from -4.3‰ to -2.5 ‰ for δ¹⁸ O and for δ²H from -23.7 to -6.4 ‰ which is a characteristic of South-West monsoon season. This suggests the groundwater system of the Mahanadi delta and the Periyar basins are influenced by dissimilar moisture sources. The δ¹⁸ O and δ² H relationship (δ²H= 6.513 δ¹⁸ O - 1.39) and d-excess value (< 10) in the east coast region indicates the influence of NE monsoon implying the quick groundwater recharge after precipitation with significant amount of evaporation. In contrast, the δ¹⁸ O and δ²H regression line (δ²H= 8.408 δ¹⁸ O + 11.71) with high d-excess value (>10) in the west coast region implies delayed recharge due to SW monsoon. The observed isotopic enrichment in west coast suggests that NE winter monsoon rainfall does not replenish groundwater quick enough to produce isotopic depletion during the season.

Keywords: Arabian sea, bay of Bengal, groundwater, monsoon, stable isotope

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Authors: Mohammad A. Alia, Abdelfatah Aref Tamimi, Omaima N. A. Al-Allaf

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This paper reviews a comparison study on the most common used authentication methods. Some of these methods are actually based on cryptography. In this study, we show the main cryptographic services. Also, this study presents a specific discussion about authentication service, since the authentication service is classified into several categorizes according to their methods. However, this study gives more about the real life example for each of the authentication methods. It talks about the simplest authentication methods as well about the available biometric authentication methods such as voice, iris, fingerprint, and face authentication.

Keywords: information security, cryptography, system access control, authentication, network security

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Authors: Matthew P. Mancini, Vincent Ribiere

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Today’s workers face more numerous and complex challenges and are required to be increasingly interdependent and faster learners. Knowledge sharing activities between people have been understood as a significant element affecting organizational innovation performance. While they do have the potential to spark cognitive conflict, disagreement is important from an organizational perspective because it can stimulate the development of new ideas and perhaps pave the way for creativity, innovation, and competitive advantage. How teams cope with the cognitive conflict dimension of knowledge sharing and the associated interpersonal risk is what captures our attention. Specifically, assertive conflict management strategies have a positive influence on knowledge sharing behaviors, and team psychological safety has a positive influence on knowledge sharing intention. This paper focuses on explaining the impact that these factors have on the shaping of an individual’s decision to engage or not in knowledge sharing activities. To accomplish this, we performed an empirical analysis on the results of our questionnaire about knowledge-sharing related conflict management and team psychological safety in pharmaceutical enterprises located in North America, Europe, and Asia. First, univariate analysis is used to characterize behavior regarding conflict management strategy into two groups. Group 1 presents assertive conflict management strategies and group 2 shows unassertive ones. Then, by using SEM methodology, we evaluated the relationships between them and the team psychological safety construct with the knowledge sharing process. The results of the SEM analysis show that assertive conflict management strategies affect the knowledge sharing process the most with a small, but significant effect from team psychological safety. The findings suggest that assertive conflict management strategies are just as important as knowledge sharing intentions for encouraging knowledge sharing behavior. This paper provides clear insights into how employees manage the sharing of their knowledge in the face of conflict and interpersonal risk and the relative importance of these factors in sustaining productive knowledge sharing activities.

Keywords: cognitive dissonance, conflict management, knowledge sharing, organizational behavior, psychological safety

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Authors: Mei Sze Wong, Huanyu Mou, Wai-Tong Chien

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Background: Breastmilk is the most nutritious food for infants to support their growth and protect them from infection. Therefore, breastfeeding promotion is an important topic for infant health; whereas, different educational and supportive approaches to interventions have been prompted and targeted at antenatal, postnatal, or both periods to promote and sustain exclusive breastfeeding. This systematic review aimed to identify the effective approaches of educational and supportive interventions to improve breastfeeding. Outcome measures were exclusive breastfeeding, partial breastfeeding, and breastfeeding self-efficacy, being analyzed in terms of ≤ 2 months, 3-5 months, and ≥ 6 months postpartum. Method: Eleven electronic databases and the reference lists of eligible articles were searched. English or Chinese articles of randomized controlled trials on educational and supportive intervention with the above breastfeeding outcomes over recent 20 years were searched. Quality appraisal and risk of bias of the studies were checked by Effective Public Health Practice Project tool and Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, respectively. Results: 13 articles that met the inclusion criteria were included; and they had acceptable quality and risk of bias. The optimal structure, format, and delivery of the interventions significantly increased exclusive breastfeeding rate at ≤ 2 months and ≥ 6 months and breastfeeding self-efficacy at ≤ 2 months included: (a) delivering from antenatal to postnatal period, (b) multicomponent involving antenatal group education, postnatal individual breastfeeding coaching and telephone follow-ups, (c) both individual and group basis, (d) being guided by self-efficacy theory, and (e) having ≥ 3 sessions. Conclusion: The findings showed multicomponent theory-based interventions with ≥ 3 sessions that delivered across antenatal and postnatal period; using both face-to-face teaching and telephone follow-ups can be useful to enhance exclusive breastfeeding rate for more than 6 months and breastfeeding self-efficacy over the first two months of postpartum.

Keywords: breastfeeding self-efficacy, education, exclusive breastfeeding, primiparous, support

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Authors: Eiman Alqattan

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Kuwaiti criminal justice system’s responses to allegations of sexual violence against women during the pre-trial process, suggesting that the system in Kuwait is affected by an ethos that is male dominated and patriarchal, and which results in prejudicial, unfair, and unequal treatment of female victims of serious sexual offenses. Data derived from qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews with four main groups of criminal justice system personnel in Kuwait (prosecutors, police investigators, police officers, and investigators) reveal the characteristics of a complaint of sexual violence that contribute to cases being either sent to court or dismissed. This proposed paper will suggest that Arab cultural views of women appear to influence and even shape the views, perceptions, and conduct of the interviewed Kuwaiti criminal justice system personnel regarding complaints of sexual violence made by citizens. Data from the interviews show how the image of the ‘modest woman’ that exists within Arabic cultural views and norms greatly contributes to shaping the characteristics of what the majority of the interviewed officials considered to be a ‘credible’ allegation of sexual violence. In addition, it is clear that the interviewees’ definitions of ‘modesty’ varied. Yet the problem is not only about the stereotypical perceptions of complainants or the consequences of those perceptions on the decision to send the case to court. These perceptions also affected the behaviours of criminal justice system personnel towards citizen complainants. When complainants’ allegations were questioned, investigators went as far as abusing the women verbally or physically, often in order to force them to withdraw the so-called ‘false’ complaint in order to protect the ‘real’ victim: the ‘innocent defendant’. The proposed presentation will discuss these police approaches to women and the techniques used in assessing the credibility of their accusations, including how they differ depending on whether the complainant was under or over 21 years old.

Keywords: criminal justice system, law and Arab culture, modest woman, sexual violence

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Authors: A. Kebbeb, M. Mostefai, F. Benmerzoug, Y. Chahir

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The multimodal biometric identification is the combination of several biometric systems. The challenge of this combination is to reduce some limitations of systems based on a single modality while significantly improving performance. In this paper, we propose a new approach to the construction and the protection of a multimodal biometric database dedicated to an identification system. We use a topological watermarking to hide the relation between face image and the registered descriptors extracted from other modalities of the same person for more secure user identification.

Keywords: biometric databases, multimodal biometrics, security authentication, digital watermarking

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Authors: Akunna Agunwah, Kevin Gallimore, Kathryn Kinnmond

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Entrepreneurship and project management are widely associated and seen as a vehicle for economic growth, but are studied separately. A few authors have considered the interconnectivity existing between these two fields, but relatively little empirical data currently exist in the literature. The purpose of the present empirical study is to explore whether successful entrepreneurs utilise project management approaches in enhancing enterprise growth by understanding the working practices and experiences of the entrepreneurs’ using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as a lens. In order to understand those experiences, ten successful entrepreneurs in various business sectors in the North West of England were interviewed through a face-to-face semi-structured interview method. The collected audio tape-recorded data was transcribed and analysed using the deductive thematic technique (qualitative approach). The themes were viewed through the lens of Theory of Planned Behaviour to identify the three intentional antecedents (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control) and to understand how they relate to the project management approaches (Planning, execution, and monitoring). The findings are twofold, the first evidence of the three intentional antecedents, which make up Theory of Planned Behaviour was present. Secondly, the analysis of project management approaches themes (planning, execution, and monitoring) using the lens of the theory of planned behaviour shows evidence of the three intentional antecedents. There were more than one intentional antecedents found in a particular project management theme, which indicates that the entrepreneur does utilise these approaches without categorising them into definite themes. However, the entrepreneur utilised these intentional antecedents as processes to enhanced business growth. In conclusion, the work presented here showed a way of understanding the interconnectivity between entrepreneurship and project management towards enhancing enterprise growth by examining the working practices and experiences of the successful entrepreneurs in the North-West England.

Keywords: business growth, entrepreneurship, project management approaches, theory of planned behaviour

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Authors: Abdelmoniem A. Attaelmanan, Ahmed A. H. Siddig

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This study was conducted in light of continual global climate changes that projected increasing aridity, changes in soil fertility, and pollution. Plant growth and development largely depend on the combination of availing water and nutrients in the soil. Changes in the climate and atmospheric chemistry can cause serious effects on these growth factors. Plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and hydrogen (H) play a fundamental role in the maintenance of ecosystem structure and function. Hashab (Acacia senegal), which produces gum Arabic, supports dryland ecosystems in tropical zones by its potentiality to restore degraded soils; hence it is ecologically and economically important for the dry areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The study aims at investigating the effects of water stress (simulated drought) and poor soil type on Acacia senegal C, N, and H contents. Seven days old seedlings were assigned to the treatments in Split- plot design for four weeks. The main plot is irrigation interval (well-watered and water-stressed), and the subplot is soil types (silt and sand soils). Seedling's C%, N%, and H% were measured using CHNS-O Analyzer and applying Standard Test Method. Irrigation intervals and soil types had no effects on seedlings and leaves C%, N%, and H%, irrigation interval had affected stem C and H%, both irrigation intervals and soil types had affected root N% and interaction effect of water and soil was found on leaves and root's N%. Synthesis application of well-watered irrigation with soil that is rich in N and other nutrients would result in the greatest seedling C, N, and H content which will enhance growth and biomass accumulation and can play a crucial role in ecosystem productivity and services in the dryland regions.

Keywords: Acacia senegal, Africa, climate change, drylands, nutrients biomass, Sub-Saharan, Sudan

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Authors: Karla Cautivo, Thomas Riley, Daniel Knight

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Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalised humans. C. difficile colonises the gastrointestinal tract, causes disease in a variety of animal species and can persist as a spore in diverse environments. Genetic overlap between C. difficile strains from human, animal and environmental sources suggests CDI has a zoonotic or foodborne aetiology. In Australia, C. difficile PCR ribotype RT014 (MLST clade 1) and several ST11 (MLST clade 5) RTs are found commonly in livestock. The high prevalence and diversity of ST11 strains in Australian production animals indicates Australia might be the ancestral home for this lineage. This project describes for the first time the ecology of C. difficile in Australian native animals, providing insights into the prevalence, molecular epidemiology and evolution of C. difficile in this unique environment and a possible role in CDI in humans and animals in Australia. Faecal samples were collected from wild/captive reptiles (n=37), mammals (n=104) and birds (n=102) in Western Australia in 2020/21. Anaerobic enrichment culture was performed, and C. difficile isolates were characterised by PCR ribotyping and toxin gene profiling. Seventy isolates of C. difficile were recovered (prevalence of C. difficile in faecal samples 28%, n=68/243); 27 unique RTs were identified, 5 were novel. The prevalence of C. difficile was similar for reptiles and mammals, 46% (n=17/37) and 43%(n=45/104), respectively, but significantly lower in birds (7.8%, n=8/102; p<0.00001 for both reptiles and mammals). Of the 57 isolates available for typing, RT237 (clade 5) and RT002 (clade 2) were the most prevalent, 15.8% (n=9/57) and 14% (n=8/57), respectively. The high prevalence of C. difficile in reptiles and mammals, particularly clade 5 strains, supported by previous studies of C. difficile in Australian soils, suggest that Australia might be the ancestral home of MLST clade 5.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile, zoonosis, molecular epidemiology, ecology and evolution

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Authors: Jamil Hijazi, Stirling Howieson

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Over one-quarter of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s total oil production (2.8 million barrels a day) is used for electricity generation. The built environment is estimated to consume 77% of the total energy production. Of this amount, air conditioning systems consume about 80%. Apart from considerations surrounding global warming and CO2 production it has to be recognised that oil is a finite resource and the KSA like many other oil rich countries will have to start to consider a horizon where hydro-carbons are not the dominant energy resource. The employment of hybrid ground cooling pipes in combination with black body solar collection and radiant night cooling systems may have the potential to displace a significant proportion of oil currently used to run conventional air conditioning plant. This paper presents an investigation into the viability of such hybrid systems with the specific aim of reducing carbon emissions while providing all year round thermal comfort in a typical Saudi Arabian urban housing block. At the outset air and soil temperatures were measured in the city of Jeddah. A parametric study then was carried out by computational simulation software (Design Builder) that utilised the field measurements and predicted the cooling energy consumption of both a base case and an ideal scenario (typical block retro-fitted with insulation, solar shading, ground pipes integrated with hypocaust floor slabs/ stack ventilation and radiant cooling pipes embed in floor).Initial simulation results suggest that careful ‘ecological design’ combined with hybrid radiant and ground pipe cooling techniques can displace air conditioning systems, producing significant cost and carbon savings (both capital and running) without appreciable deprivation of amenity.

Keywords: energy efficiency, ground pipe, hybrid cooling, radiative cooling, thermal comfort

Procedia PDF Downloads 264